Over the years, consumers have shifted demand from cloth towels to disposable wipes for infants and toddlers. This shift in demand from washable to disposable products has helped to develop the disposable wipe business into a major industry. As this industry has developed, consumers have preferred and often demanded more efficient and easier to use disposable products, such as wipes with better absorbency which are easier to handle with infants and toddlers. Additionally, as the nursing home and elderly care industry has grown, the elderly and disabled individuals often have needed more cost effective and efficient assistance from nursing home or elderly care personnel, including bladder and bowel assistance.
Prior art cleaning wipes have attempted to provide disposable wipes having various different features. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,336 to Finch et al. discloses a disposable mitt wipe for wiping and cleaning waste from the body. The wipe is intended for use both by and on children, and includes a mitt body having a top layer and a bottom layer which form an interior space and an open end for insertion of the user's hand. The mitt can come saturated with a wet cleaning solution, and also includes an access flap for help in finding the interior space and a reinforcing cuff to keep the material around the open end secure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,108 to Brown et al. discloses a cleaning/dusting mitt that includes a section for the palm of the hand, a central section for the fingers, and a compartment on either side of the central section for a thumb. The mitt can be worn on either hand and both sides of the mitt can be used for cleaning without moving the mitt from one hand to the other.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,469 to Schaetzel discloses a sanitary mitten for cleaning and wiping babies or older people with bowel control problems. The mitten includes an inner waterproof material and an outer extra-absorbent cloth-like disposable material containing moisturizers. The mitten also has an internal pull tab to aid in removal of the mitten from the hand after use.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,863 to Skewes et al. discloses a disposable mitten impregnated with a hydrating, non-ionic cleanser. The mitt can come in a microwave-heatable wrap and then heated up in a microwave prior for use in bathing a patient or for personal bathing. The cleanser is intended to evaporate into the air quickly (especially when heated), leaving the skin clean, soft, soothed, nourished and protected.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,338 to Manske, Jr. et al. discloses a disposable, semi-enclosed applicator for distributing a substance onto a target surface. The applicator has a first side, a second side, and an internal cavity between the sides for insertion of a user's hand. One side of the applicator includes “rugosities” for aiding in scrubbing, while the other side is suitable for quickly absorbing excess cleaning solution and buffing a surface to a streak-free shine.
Although the above inventions may be useful for their intended purposes, there remains a need for a disposable hygienic mitten which is easy to put on and to remove and which both the inside and the outside of the mitten can be used for cleaning.